Philips Sleep Headphones review: Comfy, but imperfect

Whether you work the third shift, sleep next to a snoring partner, or are routinely woken up by the gentle morning sounds of heavy construction machinery, if you’re part of the poor sleep club, you know the agony of prolonged sleep deprivation. Thankfully, sleeping headphones are a great tool we unwilling insomniacs can use to finally catch that elusive REM.

However, sleep headphones are no ordinary headphones; they require some special features. A secure fit is important so you don’t have to hunt through the sheets for a stray earbud. They need a good seal against noise and, ideally, active noise cancellation, which can go a long way for sleep. Above all else, they need to be comfortable because no one wants ear pain halfway through the night.

We’ve seen a handful of earbuds worth using to catch a few Zs come and go, and the Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones are a pair that looks promising as a lastingly comfortable and secure wear.

Price, availability, and specs

The Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones retail for $250. However, you can purchase them through Amazon, where they cost $230, or through Kokoon, where they’re currently on sale for $180. Philips’ USA store has a product listing page for the headphones, but you strangely can’t purchase them there.

What’s good about the Philips Sleep Headphones?

Unique design that stays put

The Kokoon’s physical design is pretty unique. They have decent build quality and comfort, and from a purely tactile standpoint, these headphones are built well. The semi-coiled wire allows the buds to stretch to your unique fit without any strain or excess slack. Four different tip sizes ensure that most users will find a comfortable fit. When I first saw the headphones’ considerably large centerpiece, I was immediately worried that I’d only be thinking of the clunky weight sitting on the nape of my neck. But it turns out, that I could barely feel it even when I fell asleep.

So, if you end up with a pair of these, take heart in knowing that they’re incredibly comfortable earbuds. During my testing, I didn’t wake up with ear or head pain, and they stay in my ears, but you have to be sure to find the right ear tip size.

The sleep-tracking sensors on these headphones are located in the earbuds. They consistently track sleep data, which is displayed through the Kokoon app. I like that Kokoon offers long-term month-over-month insight into data like how often you wake at night, your total time slept, and how often you hit your target bedtime.

The brand doesn’t offer a lot of insight into how the headphones actually measure and discern sleep-related data except to claim that its sensors are “known to have more accurate sleep monitoring than other well-known brands.” Known to whom, it’s unclear, and information about how consumer-grade in-ear monitors compare to those used in smartwatches or rings is limited.

I like the app’s built-in noises, which range from meditations to soothing instrumentals to therapeutic incantations. It’s also fantastic that the headphones will fade the audio out into white noise when sleep is detected; however, many of the app’s built-in noises are less than 10 minutes long, so if you’re not blessed with the ability to fall asleep in five minutes, this feature may not hold much value for you.

The Philips Kokoon’s passive noise cancellation through a tight in-ear seal is commendable. Even without audio output, these headphones create a competent shield against some environmental noises. These headphones don’t block out quite as much noise as I’d expect for the price, but they are decent. Kokoon says it uses noise masking instead of active noise cancellation, which is said to be more effective for noise negation during sleep.

What’s bad about the Philips Sleep Headphones?

A lot of kinks to work out

It’s painful to be upfront about not loving a product I desperately wanted to love, but when it comes to a $200+ purchase, honesty is more than just a good practice — it’s a necessity. The app needs work; it’s very clunky to navigate. Plus, it’s annoying that the audio fade out to white (or pink or brown) noise, arguably these headphones’ most unique feature, is a paid subscription perk. The home page looks incomplete; it is mostly blank, with a button meant to connect the Kokoon app to your audio source, presumably like Apple Music or Spotify, but this option has never worked for me.

Even without this integration into the Spotify app, you should theoretically be able to use any audio source with the Philips Kokoon headphones’ Bluetooth connection. However, whether because of faulty hardware or connectivity issues, Bluetooth only worked about three-quarters of the time. The device would disappear from my phone’s connections, and I would need to pair it again.

After a few days of use, the headphones’ performance issues worsened. Even when they managed to maintain the Bluetooth connection, at least half the time, no sound came out of the headphones. The app’s d battery levels display wasn’t always accurate. Twice, Kokoon stated my headphones’ battery was between 30 and 40%, but when I tried to power them on, the battery was stone-cold dead.

A mic feels like an unnecessary afterthought on these headphones, and its quality isn’t outstanding. For one, there are very few calls I’d be willing to make and take in the middle of a nap. The volume controls are on the control piece sitting on the back of your neck, which is far from convenient. The worst of all is that the case doesn’t wirelessly charge, so you have to plop these headphones on the charger after every overnight use.

As a distant last point, the Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones are just too niche of a design for daily earbuds. Despite their comfort, they do look funny, and the sound quality isn’t strong enough for music casual listening. Rather than all the extra fuss (and money) for something specifically designed for sleep, you might be better off going with something in a similar price range, like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II. They are comfortable, easily pocketable, have a functional app, and they fit snuggly while snoozing.

Should you buy it?

It’s a tough recommendation to make for $250. At that price, I’d like to see wireless charging, a more polished app, and seamless integration with other audio apps. However, they are exceptionally comfortable headphones — an important endorsement to make as a side sleeper who frequently encounters ear pain after wearing AirPods all night. These headphones stay in the ear, and their noise seal is notable.

If comfort is a priority, and you’re willing to gamble on encountering the same connectivity issues that I did, then the Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones may serve you well. In any case, Kokoon has the right design formula, but it needs more tweaking to offer us tumultuous sleepers a product that promises comfort, value, and protection against disruptive noises.